Disrupting Deficit Literacy Paradigms: Examining English Language Proficiency and Literacy Benchmark Assessment Practices in Kindergarten

• In Event: 45.059 - Educational Equity for Bilinguals: Leveraging Agentic Actions to Disrupt "Truths" in the Post-Truth Era

Abstract

With the intent of addressing issues of equity in bilingual education literacy classrooms, this quantitative study examined the relationship between English language proficiency scores and English literacy benchmark assessment levels of kindergarten emergent bilinguals in a Spanish/English two-way immersion program. Findings evidenced a significant correlation between English language proficiency composite scores and English literacy benchmark assessment levels. The researchers also employed a multiple regression analysis to show how the language proficiency scores accounted for 59.17% of the variance of the English benchmark assessment levels. These findings were used to create an alternative framework for interpreting the English literacy benchmark assessment levels to shift from a monolingual English paradigm to one that recognizes the nuances specific to bi/multilingual children.

Authors

• Leanne M. Evans, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

• Dian Mitrayani, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

• Laurie Burgos, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Alexis Nass